In Solitude is Quietude, Ulap Chua delves into the paradoxes of loneliness: "I hold so many dear, yet at times, I feel utterly alone." Their images reflect the calm within chaos, the solace found in introspection. Chua's photographs investigate the unspoken need for companionship and the quiet, tumultuous beauty of solitude.
Megadike Naps offers an encounter with stillness amidst activity. "At the Dampalit Megadike, I realized I didn't need to push myself. Like the napping dog I photographed, I could stop and just take it all in—a stinky, serene peace."
In Nothing and No One in Tabora, Chua reflects on solitary moments within the vibrant chaos of Divisoria. "I pride myself on knowing its ins and outs," Chua shares, "yet I often leave feeling like something essential remains elusive."
Finally, Chua expands on solitude in varied contexts. In On Care and Mosquito Nets, captured in La Union, Chua collaborates with James Harvey Estrada and Eneas Prawdzic for Landscapes of Care, a project that examines the global dynamics of caregiving. Observing Prawdzic's performance in this setting, Chua describes "a quiet reckoning with a complicated colonial past and the turbulence of reconciliation."
